No Need for Heavenly Disasters
by DarkRanger12
Summary: An unsuspecting web designer stumbles into more that he bargined for. This is also self insertionMulti crossover story. It's also an alternate universe to the OVA time line so somethings may have been changed. There might be Shoujoai relationsips too
1. Prologue

Heavenly Disaster Productions presents:  
Archangel

A non technicolor film

Written by Darkranger12

With assistance from:

Strife Aileron

Shanejayell

And Liliandra

Prologue: Rainy Day.

The slender man sat in a small waiting room, idly fingering a plain folder that was in his hands. He had short neatly combed brown hair, a pair of round glasses, tan slacks and a pair of scuffed up Nikes. A light brown old navy jacket hung open revealing a maroon long sleeve shirt.

He was eying the company logo pensively as he played with the edge then took in the surroundings. It was a new office space with drab grey carpeting, and a fresh coat of dark grey paint. The seats were a bit too firm, and there were some business magazines from four months ago on the table. The air was a bit stuffy in the lobby which made him want to take off his jacket.

A wiry thin man with pasty white skin and very short straight hair sat at the receptionist desk. His he wore an all too tight dress shirt, drab gray pants and a matching gray vest. His eyes were dull and his mouth was expressionless as he manned his post. His fingers worked slowly over the keyboard of his laptop.

He clutched his folder gently now, hoping that he had landed the job. This was the new home office of a gaming company which had risen to fame in the past five years. Gaining employment with this software firm would definitely put him in the black again. Not to mention put the more recent past behind him.

The door opened and a fresh faced, heavy set girl walked out of a door marked employees only. She had her dark hair pulled out into a ponytail and was dressed rather casually in a pair of jeans, a beat up pair of sneakers, a white tee and a dark jean jacket.

He noted the small smile on her face, and her lazy gait as while she jammed her hands into her jacket pocket.

The door swung open again and a woman with blonde hair and pasty white skin slipped out of the office.

'I wonder what the personnel director wants?' Dan thought, gazing at the woman who had interviewed him over a half hour ago.

"Simone, will you be able to work tomorrow?" The blonde woman asked the heavy set woman.

'Ah damn,' Dan thought as his heart sank into his stomach, knowing full well he had lost the position to the girl. 'There goes this job. Had my heart set on it too.'

"Sure thing Ms.LaCroix." Simone turned and grinned at the blonde. "That'd work just fine." She looked at the slender man and then jabbed a thumb at the blonde. "I think you should go talk to her, kid. She might let you down easy."

'Kid?' He thought and then smiled sheepishly as he stood up. 'Ah to be deceptively young. Heh, at least I have that going for me.'

He trudged over to the blonde who was waiting for him. LaCroix looked him over, and then tried to put on her best apologetic smile as he approached.

"I'm sorry Mr Wisner," The blonde began, trying to console him. "But the site author and site management position went to Simone."

"I see..." Dan sighed and gazed at her, slightly curious of where he erred. "May I ask why?"

"Your designs were good, but they lacked oomph." LaCroix explained. "Also, you have a serious lack of knowledge in regards to server management. We may be a large company, but here at the home office, you would have been handling the server yourself."

"Mm, yeah, that could be a real detriment." Dan sighed softly. He looked up and nodded to her then offered a hand. "Well best of luck to you and your company, Ms.LaCroix"

"Best of luck to you as well, Mr. Wisner." She nodded, taking his in hers and offering a bland smile while giving his hand a firm handshake.

"Thank you." Dan nodded and let go, then turned away from the blonde and trudged over to the exit. It was made of glass and had a single bar for a handle. He grabbed a hold of the handle it and pushed hard to exit into a dimly lit hallway.

He trudged down the hallway lobby and found himself standing in an enclosed lobby. Its walls were slate grey while its floor was a mix of drab carpeting and brown brick. It was occupied by several wooden benches and a pair of trees to give the slate gray lobby a bit of color. A wall of tinted opaque glass surrounded a pair of heavy doors. They were made of steel and had a little portal for a window.

All of the benches were occupied by other visitors to the building. They were all bundled up in warm clothes. Dan ignored them and made his way over to one of the trees. It was a rather tall ficus which had gnarled branches and sickly yellow-green leaves.

He sighed and trudged over to the thick doors, deciding not to stay any longer. When he reached the door, he was almost knocked over By a harried man in a trench-coat. He staggered back while he felt his folder escape his grasp. It fell to the floor and slid a few inches. Dan stared at the man's back and noted that he hand a cell -phone to his ear.

He furrowed his brow in contempt, then shook his head and looked for the folder. He found it pointing towards the sickly fichus and strode quickly to retrieve the item. He leaned down, picked the folder up and hastily fingered through its contents.

The cd-rom looked intact in its generic jewel casing, and the cover letter and resume sat snug in the folder. He breathed a sigh of relief and trudged over to the door. He pushed one of the heavy doors open carefully and peered outside.

The sky was overcast, the cool air smelled dank and there was a light sheen of wetness on the pavement. Shallow puddles collected in the gutters reflecting the light from a nearby neon signs and break lights from passing cars.

'Has it stopped raining?' Dan wondered clutching his folder a bit. He stepped out and felt a fine smattering of wetness on his face. 'Hm...just drizzling.'

He padded away from the building and trudged down the sidewalk merging with the slow yet steady stream of pedestrians walking to and fro from work.

Dan was on the outside of the small group, not wanting to interact. A white Mustang whizzed past and splashed through a puddle. The wall of water splattered Dan, drenching his calf and thigh. Dan looked down at himself and sighed, wishing that he had worn his dark jeans.

'This just isn't my day.' He thought as the other pedistrians all but ignored him. Dan leaned down and wringed out some of the water with both hands. Passersby weaved around him, not once looking back. He righted himself after trying to squeeze the last drop out of his pant leg.

He looked over his shoulder and saw a black Escalade boring down on the puddle. He cursed, not wanting to be splashed again, then scampered into the line of pedistrian traffic. He nearly collided with a few people, stopped short within the lane of to and fro traffic, which gave him the opportunity to receive a lot of nasty looks.

He sighed again, happy that he hadn't knock anyone into the street, yet unhappy that he was pissing off his fellow man. Dan stuffed despondantly stuffed a free hand in his coat pocket and trudged along the sidewalk.

He followed the line of pedestrian traffic for six blocks, then turned down a side street, taking him away from the buisness district of the suburb.

He passed by a pair of convience stores, a drug store, a run down dollar theater and finally a liquor store. A couple of compact cars lazily drove down the lane, emitting faint white clouds of vapor from their tailpipes.

He ambled past a vacant strip mall that was once home to a Quik Coffee shop. The place was now home to stray people as well as dogs and cats.

A few of the felines were in overgrown bushes keeping out of the damp weather. Most looked wet and had dull pelts of fur. A few of the strays were quite emaciated and eyed Dan warily.

Dan eyed then warily as well. A part of him wanted to take one home, knowing full well Miss Suano wouldn't allow it, while another part was ready to flee if one lept out of the bush and attacked him.

He was so engrossed with the plight of the felines that he didn't notice that a larger problem was approaching him at a steady pace.

The low rumble finally reached Dan's ears, and he slowly turned to see a Rottweiler approaching from his left. It was big, a bit emmaciated, had long legs, battle scars on its back and a gnarled muzzle. "Oh Shh..."

Dan held his tongue and stood perfectly still as it came to a a halt a good five feet away from him. 'Oh no...angry dog protecting its territory. This is not good. Not good at all'

The Rottweiler's rumble increased in depth as it took a step further, which made Dan flinch. Sensing his fear, the dog began to bark, showing its toothy maw.

"Ulp.." Dan gulped worriedly. The stray charged at him, making him jump away. The animal was on him quickly, catching the ends of his coat in its mouth. He almost fell over but regained his balance. The Rottweiler tugged a little, but Dan stood his ground.

"Aw..hell." Dan grumbled and reached back and grabbed at his coat. He tugged back, but the animal wouldn't let go.

"Damn it," Dan growled and continued to pull on the end. He looked back at the dog and tried to give it a command. "No 'Spot'...my coat is -not- a chew toy. Now let go."

The Rottweiler did not yield to his command and gave his jacket a vicious tug. Dan almost fell but again regained his balance.

"Damn it..." Dan muttered and then sighed. "Okay...if you won't listen to that...maybe you'll...listen to this!"

Dan lashed out with his left foot. The foot connected with the dogs side, and the stray yelped in pain. Dan watched as the Rottweiler let go of his jacket with a deep throated snarl and lunged at his right leg.

"Oh Shit!" Dan yelped and hastily stepped out of the way, then dodged to the right as the dog went for his other leg. It went for his right thigh and Dan danced out of the way before pivoting on a heel dashing off. The Rottweiler snarled and took off after Dan.

Dan' feet pounded solidly on the sidewalk as he fled for his life with folder still in hand. The Rottweiler barked and snarled as it chased after the fleeing man. He glanced back and saw that the blurry brown-black was nearly on top of him. He growled to himself and increased his stride, hopping to put some distance between the stray and himself.

The stray snarled and galloped after him, causing onlookers to stop and stare as they lazily strolled down the lane.

They continued down the block, passing ma and pop stores, an old gas station with a garage for repairs and a KwikMart. People ducked into the doorways of the shops as the two galloped down the sidewalk.

By this point, Dan's sides were starting to burn as his lungs continued to suck down oxygen. His thighs were aching and his feet were throbbing. His face was contorted in a mask of discomfort and fear. He wanted to slow down, but being caught wasn't an option that he'd like to chance. Behind him, the animal didn't show any signs of duress.

Dan glanced up ahead, really looking at his surroundings and noticed the busy intersection up ahead, the red lights and the greens the other way, the oncoming traffic, the half dozen cars at the light.

'Gotta make it! Gotta make it!' He thought as he sprinted for the crosswalk, hoping he won't be caught in the traffic. The Rottweiler increased its pace and galloped after him, trying to catch its prey. Dan dodged a few onlookers, kept an eye on the light and the don't walk sign that started to flash. 'I can make it! I can make it, can't I!'

the Rottweiler weaved behind him, keeping its eyes on its prey. The onlookers jumped out of the way, causing the animal to dodge their impulsive reactions.

The lights turned from green to yellow just as he was less than a few feet away from the curb.

'I can make it! I can make it!" Dan thought as he surged ahead, ignoring the bold don't walk sign. He passed by those who were standing at the curb and ran into the street.

'Please don't clip me! Please don't hit me.' Dan glanced at the blurry line of cars and the oncoming traffic out of the corner. The animal scrambled to a halt when it reached the curb. It looked on balefully at the retreating figure as he reached the other side.

Dan doubled over and panted heavily as he tried to catch his breath. His sides and his legs felt like they were on fire.

"Oh man...am I ever out of shape." Dan muttered through gasps for air. He looked back and saw, through the traffic that the Rottweiler had turned away and was trotting back down the street. He clenched the side of his folder. "Well...at least that's over."

He took a deep breath and then stood up, trying to breathe normally and hoped that the ache in is sides would subside.Just then he felt a heavy drop of water splash on the bridge of his nose.

"Wha?"

Dan looked up and felt two more splash on his face. "Don't tell me..."

A few more pattered on his coat and hair. His fellow pedestrians looked up at the sky and produced umbrellas from their jackets or turned up their collars.

Dan sighed and slouched off, taking long strides to quicken his pace. He was once again with the pedestrian traffic, but he was weaving his way in and out, as if being first would get him home quicker. Alas a few blocked his way, confining Dan to his spot. Dan frowned at this manuever, but let it go and kept on walking with the traffic.

The sky opened up, and umbrella's unfurled and popped into the air, protecting their owners. Dan let the rain soak his face,  
hair and splatter his glasses as he plodded along with them.

"Well if this isn't a kick in the pants." Dan muttered to himself as he trudged along with the pedestrian traffic. "Still no job, then I get splashed by a car, a Rottweiler chases after me now I'm being pissed on by Mother Nature. I tell you, this is the worst day of my life."

Dan heard a mumbles over the patter of the steady rain and looked around him. Most of the pedestrians weren't making any eyecontact with him, or if they were, they were glaring at him.

"Do you think he's homeless?" a woman murmured to herhusband.

"Don't make eye contact, Martha," he muttered back, "it just encourages them."

'Oh great...now everyone thinks I'm crazy.' Dan thought and furrowed his brow. 'Guess I should shut up then.'

He slowed his pace, just ambling along by himself and not with the crowd. He continued on, following the crowd until they came to an intersection. While most crossed the street and continued on, he turned left and slouched into a residential area.

He past a house that had been vacant for some time. Its previous owners left one year ago. Its bushes were hagard looking and the lawn was a sea of tall grass. The shutters were crooked and the paint was faded.

'Thats B grade movie haunted house material right there.' Dan thought as he walked past the building. He trudged on, stepping over deep puddles that formed in the uneven sidewalk. He past a three story house with sky blue paint and black shutters. It used to be a private doctors practice but the house had been for sale for sometime now. He could see oddly shaped shadows moving about within, causing him to quicken his step. He stepped through a deep puddle but ignored it as he walked past a thick unkept hedge. He looked into the gap between the two hedges and saw a gothy couple sitting on the porch.

He ignored the couple who seemed to be enjoying the day and pressed on towards his own abode. He was passing a pair of sickly trees that seemed to attract a lot of insects each year when he was drenched again. This time it was a speeding crown victoria that had tinted windows.

Dan whirled around and growled to the retreating vehicle. "Well, thanks for the shower, asshole! I hope you get t-boned by a transport."

He bent down to wring out his pant leg then blanched when the Crown vic actually took out the mailbox that belonged to the house that was for sale. The mailbox sailed peprindicular to the lawn and impacted against the houses old siding. It bounced off and landed on the ground emptying the contents of the mailbox.

"I can't believe they did that." Dan looked a bit pale as he gazed down the street. "THAT is a federal offense, after all!"

He stood up and hrmed before turning away from the now mailboxless post and continued on down the sidewalk. He walked slowly along a drab picket fence and gazed at the three story house which was surrounded by a construction crew, lumber and various forms of machinery. He ignored the burly men wearing jeans and plaid shirts and instead gaped at what they were doing to it. They were installing slate gray shingles on the roof, drab brown wooden siding and installing arched windows on all of the floors. In addition they were contructing a slender tower with a flat cone roof.

"Why are they building a tower as an addition?" Dan boggled as he stood there.

"Atmosphere." A rich yet slightly stilted alto voice murmured close to him. "I plan to do the same to my first building as well, Daniel-kun."

Dan gasped at the voice, which was familiar to him, and turned around to face the speaker. She was shorter that he, about five foot five or so, dressed in a black powersuit with a trenchcoat over it. Her stringy hair was pulled into a not to tight hairbun. She was holding an umbrella close to her, protecting her graying black hair as well as her soft face from the rain.

"Michiko-san..." Dan exclaimed and did a half bow. "G-good day."

"Its actually a dreary day...nothing good about it." Michiko Suano murmured.

Dan boggled at her, and Michiko Suano gazed at him evenly.

"You do know about the renovation of your building, yes?" Michiko hummed.

"Er yeah I got word about that in the flier in the maibox in the lobby."

"Ah good, how soon can you move out?" she asked sweetly. "I can't wait to get the strip club in there."

Dan nearly boggled and blushed at that. "Er...ah...uh..." Dan stammered then got the hint. "This is about the rent being a bit late isn't it?"

"Partially, but I can almost taste all that muscled, oiled skin."

"Ah uhm...I'd better get going." Dan took a few steps back, then spun and ran away as if the entire legion of hell was biting at his heels.

Dan reached the small porch of his apartment building and slumped onto the second step. "W...Was that really my landlady?"

He glanced back at the other apartment building, remembered the odd comment that Michiko Suano made, clambered to the solid oak door,  
swung it open then rushed inside. He ran into the lobby and panted a bit.

'If that really was Michiko-san then why was she...' Dan thought and shook his head. 'At any rate I have to look for another job. Otherwise,  
I'd be out of a home pretty soon.'

With that thought he turned towards a nearby staircase and trudged up the flight of steps. Once on the landing, he ambled down the hall, passing a number of doors He ignored the soft sounds of tv's going, fights occuring and the occasional lurid act...he paid no mind to anything...except for when he saw the note on a nearby door. He rushed over and snatched it off. He looked at the note and sighed, letting his arm hang limp as the weight of the matter increased on his soul.

He sighed and fished out a room key out of his pocket...and worked the lock. It was sticking but Dan has yet to inform Michiko about it. He struggled while the lock made a click-clack sound until it catched. Dan sighed as he twisted the nob and pushed the solid door open. He ambled inside, fumbled for the light switch and held his breath when he flicked it up into the on position.

The track lighting flickered on, illuminating a rather spartan room.  
He puffed out a held breath, thanking the heavens that they haven't cut off his power, then trudged over to the kitchenette. Dan tiredly dropped the folder on a small table, which came to rest next to a few unopened bills.

Upon entering the kitchenette, He paused and opened a rectangular cupboard and stared at the three packages of Mr. Noodle he had left. 'God, how am I gonna stretch that over two days?'

He meandered over to the bed in the corner. On his way he passed a small barren table, a pair of chairs and short cabinet. It had once contained a small entertainment center, but now it was empty. The dust on the top left tell tale signs that it was once occupied by a moderate sized television set.

Dan trudged over to the bed ignoring the portable phone on the endtable that has since been disconnected. Not paying to much attention, he slouched down on its comforting softness and heard a crinkle of paper. Dan blinked and stood back up and noticed that he had sat on the want ads that he was looking through earlier.

He hummed and picked up the rumpled guide to jobs, then sat down as he opened up the want ad. He leafed through it, ignoring the ones that he had crossed off...boggled at the fact that his landlady was advertising for a 'Personal Compainion,' then crossed that particular ad off several times.

Dan flinched when there was a solid knock on his door. Dan sighed, figuring it was Michiko-san, here to ask about the rent, but guessed it could be his neighbor in 4c. He put the bowl on the end table and padded over to see who exactly it was.

He opened the door and there stood his landlady in a blue and red kimino made entirely of leather. Her hair was down and the kimino itself was open, showing off her ample bust.

M...Miss Michiko what are you..." Dan stammered when he noticed her come hither stare then her kimino. "I-is that...leather?"

Michiko leaned in and cupped Dan's chin with her right hand. Dan blushed, looking a bit flustered.

"So...you want to play...battleship?"

"uhhh..."

"Don't worry honey, if you sink my battleship you'll get a...treat."

'Oh shit...Oh shit...she's really hitting on me!' Dan thought.

"Hm, it's been a while since I drove stick," Michiko muttered, letting her hand trail down Dan's stomach.

"M...Michiko...san." Dan stammered not knowing what to do.

"Oh! You are a big boy!" Michiko cooed, licking Dan's ear.

Ah...don't grasp me there..." Dan nearly whined.

"Why not? Little Danny doesn't seem to mind..." Michiko whispered huskily, grinding herself against Dan's thigh.

"But...Michiko-san...I have to get up early tommorrow for an interview ..."

"Don't worry, my bed is...comfortable," Michiko replied, grnning seductively.

"But If I don't get this job...I won't be able to get the rent...so please..."

"Don't worry, I've got just the job for you. All it requires of you, is to lay on your back..."

"Look...your offer is all well and good but I really need to pay you back..."

Michiko pouted, then perked up, "How do you feel about silk?"

"Ah..whuhuh?"

She pulled a couple of silk scarves from...somewhere. "Now, lie down like a good little boy...and you can pay back for the rent you owe..."

Dan blushed hotly and gently pushed her out the door. "G..GOMEN!" Dan stared at her.

"Oh poo!" Michiko muttered, stamping her foot. "All the good ones are gay!"

Dan blinked "I'm not gay!"

"You're not? Then let me in!"

Dan stood ramrod stiff in the doorway. Leaving him open for any more advances.

"Oh, this'll be fun!" Michiko shouted as she slam tackled Dan and tried to get him onto the bed, silk scarves waving about in one hand.

Dan gahed and then eeped as she tried to get him to the bed. He struggled free and lead her to the door, gasping her by the arm. "Please this just isn't right..." He pushed her out and then closed the door behind him. He leaned against it and shivvered. "Please don't be upset...its...its just not right..."

Michiko sighed, then perked up, "Hey, I can ambu...er, talk to the guy in 6C!"

'Why...why did she have to hit on me...' Dan thought as he slumped down to the bare floor. 'Kami-sama please make the hurting STOP!'

Dan just sat there, staring at a space on the floor as he tried to shake it off.

"W...Why did she pick me?" Dan murmured. "Of all of the people here. Why'd she pick me."

Dan pulled himself off of the floor and shambled over to the bed. He slumped down on its soft surface and gazed at his spartan apartment. "Just what is going on with my life."

Moments later there was another knock on the door. "Who is it?"

"Mr. Wisner? It's me, Miriko. Can I come in?"

"Hai." Dan called out.

The dooe opened and a slim teen poked her head in. Dan once more marveled at how closely resembled her mother.

"Hey," She smiled in greeting, "Did mom take a bite out of your wallet" She asked before mumbling under her breath, "Or anywhere else..."

Dan sweatdropped at the comment. "Theres not much to take a bite out of, really."

The girl hummed then spotted the open cuboard. "What? Uh uh... no way you're having the instant noodle garbage again." She declaired.

"Er...its the only thing I can afford Miriko." Dan offered.

Miriko's face scrunched up in a cutely determined look. "I'll be back in a bit. I see even one package opened I'll make you sorry." She runied it with a bright smile before ducking out the door.

Dan boggled at this and just shrugged and trudged back to the bed.

Miriko almost seemed to 'bounce' back into the room, a wide smile on her face, carrying a large container.

Dan stood up, making a move to help her but Miriko gave him a good natured glare.

"Ok, sorry it's not much, but it was all I could prepare on such short notice."

Dan smiled when the aroma reached his nose. "Mmm...Miriko is that..."

"Yep." Miriko smiled, "Was making steak stir fry for mom and me for dinner, didn't take much to make a third helping."

Dan grinned sheepishly. "Thanks Miriko"

"Your welcome," Miriko chirped, giving Dan a quick peek on the cheek,  
then blushed madly.

Dan blushed madly in turn and moved to sit down.

"Enjoy, I'll be back later to get the dishes." The still flushed girl said before nearly bolting out the door. After missing the first time.

Dan stared at the door for a moment then turned to the container. Dan turned from the table to retrieve the want ads. When he returned, he ate frome the container and looked for more jobs. "What's this?" Dan muttered when he found a rather large ad on page 7.

'Wanted: Web Designer for new start-up company...good pay, flexible hours ...must be willing to try new things...contact us at Archangelsynwes.  
net.'

Dan gazed at the add then cocked his eyebrow and muttered "What do they mean by 'must be able to try new things'."


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One

'Who is this nutball?' Dan thought as he held on to a hand hold. His stomache lurched as the white haired driver took a sharp turn around the corner. "Urk."

"Better not throw-up in here," Strife mentioned, looking over at Dan. "I'll make you clean it up."

"I'll keep that in mind..." Dan muttered.

"Good," Strife said, nodding. Taking his hands off the wheel, he patted his vest, looking for something.

"Erk...what are you doing!?" Dan blurted, now looking a bit panicked.

Pulling a pack of cigarettes out of his vest, Strife then tapped the wheel, causing the car to swerve around a pedestrian. Taking a cigarette out ofthe pack, Strife replied, "I'm dying for a cigarette, why?"

'Oh great...he's gonna have a light.' Dan thought as he rolled down a window.

"Well at least you didn't hit that old man...Ah!" Dan then erked again when they took a sharp turn onto a side street. "Why'd you do that?! Fourth street isn't that bad!"

"Short-cut," Strife replied casually.

Dan grumbled as he sank into the seat, happy that he was locked into a five point harness. He glanced at Strife who now had a cigarette in his mouth before turning his attention to the road.

"Red light! Red light!" Dan shouted, eyes widening in terror.

"Bah, calm down," Strife drawled, cutting across two lanes of traffic.

"Just where did you learn to drive?!"

"Taught myself. Why?"

"You taught yourself?!" Dan boggled.

"Yeah, so?" Strife questioned, even as he swerved through the intersection, missing a cargo van by mere inches.

"Where'd you train? Downtown Chicago?!"

"Hm?" Strife replied, casually cutting off a city bus. "Ah, No. downtown Toronto, Although I spent a couple of weeks in downtown New York."

Dan eeped at the blaring horn from the bus and sank down in his seat again. "That explains it."

"Dude, you've got to relax," Strife muttered as he slid around another corner.

Dan erked again and grumbled inwardly 'No one can relax with this type of driving.'

Dan heard the engine rev up, and was suddenly pushed back into his seat as the car started to pick up speed. Glancing over, he saw the needle on the speedometer rapidly climbing past the 100mph mark.

Strife started to giggle manically.

'I must keep this job! I must keep this job! I must keep this job!' Dan thought.

"Ah fuck!" Strife suddenly cursed.

Dan glanced back at him.

"Missed the turn-off," Strife replied as he put the car into a high speed skid.

Dan felt his stomach flip and turned a curious shade of gray. "Urgle."

"Remember, you're cleanig it up," Strife reminded Dan as he brought the car out of the skid, now facing the opposite way.

The car's rear end fishtailed as Strife stamped the gas, then shot forward, only for Strife to initiate another skid around a blind corner.

Dan's eyes went wide when the blunt nose of a Mack truck came into view. 'OH SHIT!'

Strife neatly took the car up onto the sidewalk then, once past the truck, cut back over to the proper lane, almost taking out the taxi behind the truck in the process.

Dan just sat in his seat, white as a bleached sheet while Strife manuevered through traffic.

As they reached the intersection, Strife put the car into another skid, causing them to slid sideways through four busy lanes of traffic, until the car came to a stop neatly beside the curb. "We're here."

The passenger side door swung open and Dan spilled out, looking ash white.

Strife calmly got out, and lit another cigarette as he leaned against the car's frame. "Dude, you need to relax."

'Easy for you to say...' Dan thought.

"Anyway, do me a favour and close your door," Strife asked, sliding back into the car. "I need to take her in. Something was rattling around during the last part of the ride."

Dan sat up slowly and closed his door.

As soon as the door latched, Strife pulled away with a squeal of tires, leaving behind a white cloud and the smell of burnt rubber. As colour returned to Dan's face, he absently glanced at his watch. 'I'm an hour early!?'

Dan shakily walked into the building, and collapsed in a chair.

"Ah Mr Wisner," Washu commented cheerfully. "Your early. Good. We like that here."

Dan stared at the red haired woman. There was something in her cheerfulness that made him feel uneasy, but he couldn't put a finger on what.

"Well, since you're here, let's get going!"

As they walked towards a bank of elevators, Washu said, "As I told you yesterday at your interview, we are still small. You won't have a lot of staff to call your own at the moment, but that'll probably change."

Dan blinked at her.

Washu just smiled cutely as the two boarded the elevator.

"Hey, hold the elevator." a voice called out. The voice's owner was a woman with spikey, cyan coloured hair.

Dan reached out and held it open.

"Mr. Wisner, meet Ryouko Hakubi, President of our company," Washu introduced as Ryouko entered the elevator. "Ryouko, meet Dan Wisner, our Web Designer."

Dan blinked at the woman and nodded. "Hello Ma'am."

Ryouko looked at him with a look normally reserved for examining bugs. "Hello, Mr. Wisner."

Dan gazed at the woman with spiky cyan hair for a moment. She was dressed in a dark pant suit with silvery buttons.

Ryouko ignored him, and asked Washu, "I'm going to the top, if you could...?"

Dan blinked as Washu nodded and tabbed the floor 3 button.

"Thanks, mom," Ryouko said, leaning against the elevator wall.

Dan boggled at the presidents reply and glanced from 'mother' and 'daughter.' 'Well...they do look alike.'

A ding announced that they'd reached the second floor. Washu perked up and grabbed Dan's arm, saying, "This is our stop, come on!"

Dan erked as he was yoinked away and waved back to the president. "Nice meeting you."

Ryouko lazily waved back as the elevator doors snapped shut.

Washu pulled to a stop in front of the desk of a blonde woman with twinned ponytails. "Ms. Tsukino, this is Dan Wisner, our new Web Designer. Mr. Wisner, this is Usagi Tsukino, our Graphic Designer. You need graphics, talk to her."

Dan nodded to her "Hi. Nice to meet you."

The blonde, Usagi, looked up from the electronic pad and stylus she was using, and smiled brightly, saying, "  
Hello, Dan-kun!"

Almost immediately he felt her warmth, which in turn brightened his day a bit more.

"Come on, lots to see," Washu said cheerfully, dragging Dan along.

"Ack!" Dan yelped and then waved goodbye to her. "See you later..."

"Bye!" Usagi called back cheerfully, then went back to what she was doing.

Dan was pulled along, past half cubicles and office doors, before Washu again stopped, this time in front of an office with the placard 'Dr. Ami Mizuno, Head Programmer.'

Dan blinked at the placard and hummed. "Where have I heard that name before."

Washu knocked on the door and a moment later, a voice called for the two to enter. Which they did.

Dan blinked when he noticed that three fourths of the walls were covered in bookshelves.

"Ami, this is our new Web Designer, Dan Wisner. Dan, this is Ami Mizuno" Washu introduced. "Ami's our Head of Programming and as such, she is who you go to for any programming questions and needs."

Dan nodded to Ami and smiled gently at her. "It'll be a pleasure working with you."

Ami had looked up from the large stack of paper she'd been going through, one of several stacks of paper that covered her desk. Smiling, Ami offered, "Yes, I hope it will be, Mr. Wisner."

Dan smiled back at her but was jostled by a tug to the door. "C'mon c'mon there's one more place we have to visit."

Dan acked as he was bodily dragged out of the ofice. Dan was pulled along to the end of the hall. At the end was an umarked door. 

"This is your office. It has a good view of the surrounding area." Washu gestured to the door. 

Dan poked his head into the door and found himself gazing into a spacious office. The sun shined through a thick pane of glass, brightening the room a bit. It had creme colored walls and a hardwood floor. In the center of the floor was thick woven rug. Sitting on it was a low coffee table and a pair of comfortable Sofa's and chairs.

A quartet of half cubicles were lined up in a row. Two were occupied while another, whose computer was on standby, was vacant. 

In the center of the room were a pair of couches and a pair of chairs surrounding a low coffee table. Along the wall were partial cubicles which were occupied by two workers.

One of them looked up at him from under her long bangs. "Ah. You must be the boss of our outfit."

Dan nodded and she put a finger to her lips "Be quiet. Sei's taking a nap on the couch." 

Dan blinked then looked over to the furinture and noticed a woman with flowing blonde hair curled up into the cozy couch.

"They're so soft and gentle, sometimes they just swallow you up." The woman sighed whistfully. "Oh I didn't get your name, though I just could call you Boss."

"On that note, I think I'll let you introduce yourselves." Washu offered from the door. "Now if you excuse me I have some research to do."

Dan watched the red haired woman leave and then turned back to the woman smiling up at him. 

"Dan..Daniel Wisner." Dan nodded.

"I'm Megan Reeves...nice to meet you." She nodded then pointed over to a with a partial beard. "Chris, the one buried in his notes, is our scriptcoder. Sei over there is our server marm."

"Well, it's, uh, nice to meet you, too," Dan replied, overwhemed by the friendliness.

Megan beamed at him and handed him a folder. "Miss Hakubi wanted me to give this to you. It's our Ver.01 design notes for our site."

"Um...okay." Dan took the folder from her and looked at the cover rather dumbly.

"I know this is all new..." Megan hummed and then pointed to the furniture "Why don't you take some time to just absorb the atmosphere while you look at the notes."

Dan looked over at one of the comfy chairs and nodded, then padded over to it.

As he sat down in the chair, the chair seemed to enfold him, to comfort him. In moments, he was sound asleep.

Meg looked back at the chair, then smiled when he noticed he was sound asleep. She turned back to tweak a pages overall design when a low ryhthmic grumble eminated from his chair.

"...and so the horrendous wingback strikes down another happless victim." She darkly intoned then giggled in delight as she typed away.

Dan grunted when he was jostled awake by a pair of strong hands. "Huh...whuzza..."

"C'mon Chief...it's almost noon." A male voice spoke.

'Noon!?' Dan thought as his eyes snapped open and he sat up with a start.

"Whoa there," The male voice continued. "There's no fire here. Relax, Chief."

Dan looked back to see the bearded fellow grinning back at him. "You must be...Chris, right?"

"Yep that's me." He winked at Dan. "You must be Dan, though if you don't mind I'll just call you chief, okay?"

"Um...sure." Dan nodded the brown haired man.

"Anyway since your up, we were wondering if you could grab a lunch order of ours at the Crimson Rose Cafe?"

Dan blinked and hrmed "Is it close by?"

"Yup" Megan beamed from a nearby wingback chair. In her hands were a few notes and sketches. "It's a part of the complex."

"We...have a complex?" Dan blinked.

"Naturally." Megan grinned then winked. "Everything this company produces is made at this complex."

'I didn't know that...' Dan thought as he scratched his cheek.

"Anyway, our lunch order should be ready in a few minutes." Chris grinned and jabbed a thumb at the door. "The hallway's are marked pretty well, even though it must have been all a blur when our CEO dragged you down the hall."

"All right." Dan shrugged as he slipped out of the couch "I'll head over to the Rose Cafe and pick up the order. See you in a bit."

"Take care..." Megan smiled as he ambled out of the room.

Dan sighed as he reached the Rose cafe. It took him a bit to findthis building. He had gotten lost on the second floor, but was pointed in the right direction by a small cleaning crew.

'Nice girls,' He thought as he swung the door open and peered into the cafe. 'But why were they all dressed as french maids?"

The interior of the cafe was quite spacious. Its walls were painted a light pink and the hardwood floor a light brown. Tables dotted the common area in a eraztaz pattern while small booths the left and right walls.

"Hello?" Dan intoned as he slipped into the cafe. While quite spacious it was also quite empty. "Is this place even open?"

"Jun!" A feminie voice called from the back, "Where'd you put the large pans? I can't find them!"

"Again? C'mon Satomi, this is the third time you've lost them!" Another woman's voice growled.

"Grand opening...jitters?" Dan scratched his cheek as he looked at the door that lead to the kitchen.

"That's one way to put it." A soft voice answered from behind him. Dan blinked and turned to see who spoke to him. A long, blue haired woman in glasses gazed at him with an expression of slight amusment. Several bags of groceries were in her arms.

"Need help with that..." Dan umed.

"If you insist, but they are rather heavy." The woman shrugged. Dan shrugged took one. He almost tilted over "Gah ...what's in this one?"

"About 20lbs of cheese." The woman casually replied while making her way past the wavering man.

Dan righted himself and staggered to the the back wall as the blue haired woman entered the kitchen.

When he slipped into the room, Dan glanced about the kitchen for the blue haired woman and found her storing the cheese in a stainless steel refrigerator. Dan sighed and ambled over then blinked when the blue haired woman with glasses took it from him. She smiled andwas about to thank him when a curious voice similiar to Ms. Hakubi's inquired from behind. "THIS is the new help?"

Dan glanced back and gulped inwardly as a pair of blue eyes bore into his. The owner of that pair was a dusky skinned woman with long dark hair and well developed muscles. She was dressed in a pair of dark slacks and a white short sleeved shirt.

"Aren't you?" The blue haired girl asked as she gazed curiously. Dan noted that she and two others, a pair of brunettes who were now peeking behind the amazon, were dressed the same way.

"Um...ah...no...I'm from the web design group." Dan laughed appologetically. "I'm just here to pick up our lunch order."

"Ah...your here for the 'Left Field Designs' order, then." The dark haired woman grinned and held up a finger.  
"Wait here. I'll go get it."

Dan watched the shorter woman head over to another part of the kitchen but then blinked when the blue haired woman cleared her throat.

"Why did you help me back there?" The blue haired woman inquired.

"Nice thing to do?" Dan shrugged. The blue haired woman smiled gently and nodded.

"Thank you."

Dan grinned then blinked as Jun walked back and handed him a a medium sized paper bag.

"Here you go. Three bento box lunches for the crew plus one for the new boss." Jun grinned as she handed it to him. "Enjoy."

"Ah...thank you." Dan boggled slightly and padded towards the door. The shorter brunette slipped over to the door and grinned as she held it open for him.

"Come again." Satomi smiled happily.

The orange-red light of the setting sun washed over the room as well as the trashcan in the corner. Within its small volume was a crumpled up paper bag and four containers. The occupants of Left field designs were being productive as usual. Dan looking at the design notes in a comfy chair, Sei was tweaking some server code, while Chris was hammering out some code notes in the other comfy chair. Megan was inthe corner going over a few graphic designs with Usagi. 

Moments later, the door swung open and Washu padded into the Room. With her was the President and someone who looked like her twin. Chris and the other's noticed the new arrivals, while Dan was very engrossed in the design notes. Seeing that their files had his rapt attention, Chris crumpled a wad of paper and wiffed it at Dan's head. It smacked him in the nose, causing Dan to start and look up with a cutely incredulous expression. 

Washu and the twin chuckled at his expression while Ryouko gave him the same dry look she gave him before. Dan blinked at the President then laughed nervously.

"Sorry, sorry," he apologized, looking sheepish. "Sometimes, I justget sucked in, you know?"

Ryouko blinked at the apology, then became more tight lipped.

"Your apology is accepted, Mr Wisner." She then reached out and held out a hand. "Let me see the design notes, please."

Dan watched on as she paged through the notes. After a moment shelooked at Dan. "Nothing on your part?"

"Ah...they're at the back." Dan offered sheepishly.

She flipped to the last page and gazed at his carefully written notes. There was a pregnanat pause and then she looked up.

"These are fairly acceptable..." Ryouko hummed quietly. "But that won't do for this company. Learn from your peers, Mr Wisner. Understand?"

"Um...sure." Dan nodded as Ryouko handed him the notes.

"You only a have a few more days before we implement the update" Washu grinned. "Best get cracking, team."

The group responded enthusiastically...which made Usagi and the twin smile.

Ryouko just turned and walked away with the CEO in tow.

"Well...I guess it's back to work." Dan hummed and then flipped back to his scribbled notes, and the drawing board."

The sky turned from orange to Red as Dan pondered on his designs in a comfy chair. The president's comments stung his ego, but he was used to that sort of gut punch.

There was a tap on the shoulder and Dan looked back, only to see Megan smiling sympathetically at him.

"Still stinging huh?" She wondered.

"Yeah, it caught me right in the gut," Dan murmured.

"Well, at least I'm not the only one."

"C'mere...I have a few things to show you." She waved him over to her half cubicle.

Shrugging, Dan followed along. 

Megan blushed gently as she picked up a portfolio and handed it to him. "This is what I'm using. Some of it is Ms. Tsukino's. The rest are my own."

"These look nice," Dan commented absently as he looked through the portfolio. Suddenly, he had a thought, "Hm, maybe if I...?"

"Have an idea boss?" Chris inquired.

Sei perked up and then looked to Chris. "Oh? An idea? You know what that means?"

Chris grinned and nodded as his eyes twinkled with merriment.

"IDEA JAM!" cried the three.

Dan eeped at the decree. Smiling, the group lept at their leader and hurried him back to the comfy furniture.

He fidgeted at the attention and tried to help gather snacks but Megan waved him off.  
"You've got an idea, write it done, flesh it out," Sei informed him. "Let us get the snacks and stuff..."

"Do what the server Marm says." Megan grinned and trotted out the door, leaving Dan in peace.

A half hour later, the group trooped with sodas and blt sandwich halves.

"BLTs?" Dan blinked incrediously as Sei handed him a sandwich.

"Fresh too!" Megan chirped.

Dan blinked and went to sit down as the others did.

The remain whisps of the day faded as night took over as the quartet ate in silence. An hour later Soda cans and sandwich wraps now litter the coffee table.

"So what was this idea of yours anyway, Boss?" Megan wondered as she peered at him curiously.

"Well...I was wondering if we could use some of the promotional art from the latestsoftware packages." Dan mused.

"Mmm...we could use 'Guardian A' for that." Megan mused as she sipped on some warm tea.

"Well, I was hoping to use both A and C," Dan said, then explained, "I wanted to do a sort of 'bookends' image ...you know, Guardian A on the left side, and Guardian C on the right."

Hmm..." Megan tapped her chin. "That might work. A lot of people like A and C very much."

"Really?" Dan said, looking moderately surprised, then frowned in concentration, until he finally nodded. "Yeah, I can see that, i think. There's something about them-like they belong together."

"You have no idea how much." Sei chuckled.

"Mm?" Dan blinked "Am I missing something?"

"Don't worry about it," Megan murmured, patting Dan's hand.

"Mm...Okay." Dan shrugged and then looked back at his notes. The other three looked at each other sharing a private smile, knowing that their new section boss didn't know the whole truth of this company.

EOF 


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Dan woke with a start, finding himself amdist a pile of notes, print outs and notebook paper. He slowly sat up and owlishly looked around. He was still at the office, and it appeared to be mid day. There was a shuffling noise and the blonde peered at him.

"Well hey, the boss is finally awake." Sei hummed.

Dan blinked and then gasped.

"Don't be surprised. Sometimes even we crash here all night and sleep until this time." The blonde chuckled.

"Coffee?" Megan offered, motioning to the coffeemaker set against a wall.

"Mm...could I have some tea instead?" Dan asked.

"Sure," Megan said, moving over to the table. "What kind do you like?"

"Green tea" Dan murmured.

"Cool, Megan said as she put some boiling water into a cup with a tea bag."We have a lot of that. No one else here really drinks tea alot,"

"Mm...unusal?" Dan stretched his arms and then blinked when one of the notes draped on his leg fell to the floor.

"Nah, most drink Earl Grey if they want tea."

"Mm." Dan nodded and picked up the piece of paper then almost fell over "There's an update?! Today?! Wh.."

"Calm yourself," Sei said reassuringly.

"Yeah, we're working on the updated pages now." Megan smiled at Dan. "Collect yourself and give us a hand by leading us."

"But I've really never..." Dan began and Megan just smiled at him reassuringly.

"Don't worry, we'll help. We are a team, after all." Megan mused.

Dan blinked then smiled as Megan padded over with his cup of tea in her hands. She gently offered it to him with a smile.

"Thanks." Dan nodded as he took it from her and plucked a random note from the kipple around him.

He blinked at the scribbled notes on it and then sighed. "Gwah...I didn't suggest this, did I?"

Megan peered at the note and nodded. "Yeah I think you did suggest using some animation in the future. Say.  
around our next big update."

Dan looked at the page and then scrunched up his face.

"You do know how to do it right?" Megan asked.

"I do..." Dan shrugged. "I just come up with weird ideas that no one really likes."

"Well try it on us first then the board. See if they like it? If they do, they'll give you the go ahead."

"Its less of the board and more of the public, really." Dan sighed as he reached for his cup of tea. "Mm.  
that reminds me...do we get any input about the site from the public."

"A few emails here and there." Sei shrugged.

"We could set up a input page though." Chris mused.

"Does it have to be a page? It could be a sub-bar on our contact info page? Or something like that."

"But we want to be able to let the user know that they can give input for the website," Dan said, leafing through a couple of pages. "I was thinking a mid-sized graphic on the front page that leads to the input page. Maybe we could make it a form to fill out."

"That could work." Chris nodded thoughtfully.

"Okay then we should go with that." Dan nodded. "We'll also need to design a form, but that should be easy to do."

He thought a bit. "Layout shouldn't be to cluttered. Might need something to grab them for just a bit."

"Defender Usa's image should do it." Megan grinned. 

"Not the little one that looks like she has yams on her head?" Dan blinked.

"I think so," Megan said, smiling at Dan.

"Is she more popular than Guardian A and C?"

"Yeah," Sei answered, looking up. "They find her less...threatening."

"I find that ironic." Dan chuckled.

"Wrong words, really," Sei apologized, "More cuddly, more comforting."

"Still when you figure in the program that she represents." Dan shrugged.

"True." Sei allowed winking at him.

Moments later there was a knock on the door. Dan blinked and peered over his shoulder. "Come in?"

"You 'bout ready to head out," Strife asked, leaning against the door frame.

Dan nearly paled.

"Geez, you look like you need some sun," Strife absently commented. "Tell ya what; I'll see if boss-lady will let us take the Viper. We'll drop the roof and you can catch some rays, eh?"

Dan looked at the clock. "Mmm. I think its too early for that, really."

"Moon tan," Megan cried out, laughing lightly.

Dan blinked and sighed at the comment.

Washu poked her head in now. "On the contrary. You've been her for a little while. Go home and get some rest."

"Come on, Chief," Strife said, motioning away with his head. "Grab your gear."

Dan looked to his team, who then nodded for him to go. Dan shrugged and then started to gather his notes.

Dan held on tightly as Strife took a sharp turn at a light, then snuggled into the seat as Strife accelerated down the lane.

"Hm, we need tunes," Strife noted and pushed a button by the radio. Suddenly, a LOUD guitar riff sounded out,  
and AC/DC's Highway to Hell began playing.

Dan blinked and glanced at Strife, then looked back. 'Guess we have the same tastes in some respect.'

Dan eeked quietly as they swung into another corner, barely missing a red light.

Strife expertly downshifted as he barely cleared the turning lane, shift back up as he poured speed on in a long straight away.

Dan gritted his teeth while trying to enjoy the ride. But it washard to do when you were swerving around buses, taking hair pin turns at the moment that the light turns red.

There was a brief moment of the car fishtailing slightly as Strife took both hands off the steering wheel to fish his pack of cigarettes out. He stuck one in his mouth, but didn't light it.

Dan ulped as the wihte-haired man guided the Viper into a left hand turn, then eeked as they jinked into the left hand lane, nearly missing a construction sign.

"Bleh," Strife muttered, "I hate construction."

"Construction might hate you too if you ran into it." Dan pointed out.

You've never lived in London, Ontario," Strife muttered as he just missed a hapless construction worker.

"Messy?" Dan grimaced?

"Constant," Strife replied.

"Gotcha." Dan nodded then almost felt his stomach lurch when they swerved a car.

The car shuddered slightly as Strife brought it up onto the sidewalk to get around a slow moving bus. Once past the bus, he jerked the wheel and bumped back onto the ground.

Dan squashed his eyes tight, not wanting to see anymore. He held onto the door, as some odd form of reassurance that he might make it out alive.

"Dude, you like the 'oh shit' handholds, don't you?" Strife commented absently as he cut off another bus.

Dan didn't say a word as he hoped to arrive at his apartment in one piece.

As he thought that, the car suddenly went into a 180 degree skid. Then stopped. "Everyone out, we're here!"

Dan nearly poured out of the car, startling Miriko who was just coming home from school.

"Mr. Wisner...where have you been?" The dark haired woman asked Dan.

Dan blearily looked up at her and then remembered a critical detail concerning his living situation.

"Gah..." Dan grunted and used the passenger door as support as he hauled himself to his feet. "Strife? Can you stay here. I need to check on my apartment."

"Um..." Miriko spoke up. "...about that."

Dan sighed as he emerged from the front door, in his hands was a grey cardboard box.

Strife looked up at him, cigartette hanging from the corner of his mouth. The white-haired man grunted, and called out, "You got kicked?"

"Unfortunately." Dan sighed as he plopped the box down onto the ground. Thankfully Michiko included his laptop with the box-o-stuff.

"Well that blows," Strife commented, and then flicked his cigarette away. Reaching into the car, Strife pulled out a cordless headset.

Putting the headset on, the white-haired man said into the mic. "Hey, connect me to the boss-lady."

There was a momentary pause, then he said, "Yeah, the new recruit got outed from his apartment. You think we could put him up?"

"Cool," Strife nodded after hearing the reply in his headset. Looking at Dan, he asked, "You still got stuff?"

"Er...Right here." Dan gazed at him as he hefted the rectangular box gently. 

"That's it? You don't have anything else?"

"My laptops on my back, and well, I had to sell everything else to keep afloat."

"Ouch. That sucks," Strife commented sagely. He turned away slightly and said into the mic, "Yeah, dude'll need a fully furnished one."

"Great," Strife said, and then took the headset off. Looking back at Dan, he motioned to the car. "Get in, we've got an apartment you can use."

Dan twitched then sighed gratefully when an internal mantra kicked in. 'I really need this job, I really need this job, I really need this job.'

EOF

Megan, Sei and Chris, Miriko and her mom are my own creations. Strife is copyrighted to Strife Aileron. The characters from Tenchi Muyo are copyrighted to AIC. Ami and Usagi who appeared in chapter one is copyrighted to Naoko Takeuchi. 


	4. Chapter 3

Dan blinked as a maid led him down an access corridor. 'Where The hell I'm going?' Dan wildly thought as he moved deeper and deeper into the bowels of the office building.

The maid looked back at him and smiled. "Not much farther, sir."

"I hope so..." Dan murmured while he followed her lead. After a while the two finally reached a door marked in bold letters 'Employee's only, Sub basement 1'.

"Sub basement 1?" Dan blinked increduously. 

"Yes.." The maid smiled at him. "This is where our residences are."

"U...underground?" He blinked at her.

"Of course." The maid nodded and gestured to the door. "This way please."

Dan blinked and as she swung the door open and descended into the sub basement. He shrugged and followed her down the steps, then blinked to find a blonde haired maid standing guard at the foot of the steps.

"Welcome to the living subdivision." The blonde smiled at the dumbfounded man. "If you would follow your guide she'd be happy to show you to your room."

"Um...sure." Dan nodded. His guide grinned and waved to the blonde, who had a katana in hand. The blonde bowed to then as they walked off.

Dan looked over his shoulder. "I know some companies have a security division..but why down here?"

"You're not cleared for that information," the maid answered.

'What does she mean by that?' Dan thought.

Chapter Three.

Dan blinked at the door in front of him. It, like the others he had passed while following his guide, looked like solid oak. He reached out and touched it. 'Feels like solid oak, with a damn good varnish on it.'

"Would you like to see your room?" The maid wondered after a cough.

Dan blinked and then nodded to the maid. She smiled at him and handed him a key card. Dan took it from her and slotted it into the key lock, the door clicked open and Dan pushed the door open.

Behind the door was a very opulent room, complete with plush carpetting, track lighting, furniture and a full bed.

Dan nearly boggled at how clean and how roomy his new abode was. "This is...my place?"

"Complete with bathing, ample closet space and network access." The maid nodded.

"The Building network you mean?" Dan wondered.

"Actually you have access to the world now." The maid smiled. 

Dan just stared at the room, belongings in hand, befuddled at this turn of events. He'd thought that they'd plop him into some appartment complex near the building, but here he was, facing a room twice the size of his old apartment.

"Aren't you going to go in?" The maid asked, nearly startling him. 

"Thi-this...is mine?" Dan stuttered out, looking around with wide eyes.

"You...don't like it?" The maid wondered cocking her head slightly. "If you'd like, you could take a look at our penthouse style suites."

Dan blinked and looked at her incredously. The shock of the suggestion faded away and he laughed nervously. "Ah haha...no that's fine."

Dan took a step into the apartment taking it all in. The carpet was plush and felt very new, the walls were painted a nice tan color to match the brown throw cover on the bed. An audio/visual rack sat in the corner with a flatscreen tv set against the wall.

A end table with a digital clock sat next to the bed. A squat dresser stood flat against a wall. Near that were two doors.

"The one on the right is your full closet or storage space." The maid chimed in nearly scaring him again. "The one on the left is your bath."

Dan blinked and checked on the bath, expecting to find just a stall and a toilet and maybe a sink. Dan's mouth fell at the set up. tan tiles lined the floor and the counter top that encircled the sink. The faucet and towel holders were polished neatly and the bathtub looked inviting.

"Does this meet your specifications...we could move you to one that has a furo." Dan blinked and shook his head. 

"N..no that's fine."

Dan closed the door and wandered over back to the dresser, put the bo xon the top of it then flopped down on the bed. He closed his eyes for a moment to see if he was dreaming then opened them. He glanced around, sighed when he noted his room was still here, then to the maid who cleared her throat. "Can I help you with anything else, Mr.Wisner?"

"Ah...no...no I'm fine for now." Dan shook his head meekly. With that the the maid bowed to him with a smile.

"Very well, Mr.Wisner. Thank you for joining Archangel...and welcomehome."

Dan blinked at her and nodded to the maid then watched pleasant woman leave. The door didn't click behind her, which was a nice touch. He stared at the door for a moment, wondering what to do next.

Dan stared at the ceiling, all the while relaxing in the comfortable softness of his new bed. Compared to the last mattress he slept on, this one felt like it was filled with fresh down.

"What an odd couple of days," Dan murmured, summing up the last fourty eight hours of his life. "Could it get any odder?"

He took a deep breath then curled up onto himself hoping that this was the last of the oddness that was in store for him. 

His eyes began to droop as he relaxed into the softness of his new bed. He drifted off slowly into a heavy slumber. 

The next morning he woke to a light tapping on his door. Dan mmphed and sat up, looking very bleary eyed and disheveled.

"Who?"

Come on, Dan-kun," Washu said as she breezed into the bedroom. "We've got things to do!"

Dan blinked at her. "What sort of things?"

"Oh, just your physical," Washu answered absently, giggling in delight at the prospect.

"Physical?"

"It was mentioned in the papers you signed," Washu said, tugging at Dan's arm. "Come on! It'll be fun!"

Dan blinked then nodded when he vaguely remembered the content of those papers.

"Ah, good. You remember!" Washu said enthusiastically. "Come on, get up! I've got the lab all ready!"

Dan nodded at her request then blinked at himself. "Um I really can't go out like this."

'Bah, don't worry about it," Washu muttered, waving the thought off. "We're not going topside, anyway."

"W...We're not?" Dan blinked at the CEO of the company.

"Nope!" Washu chirped.  
"Then where are we going?" Dan blinked then remembered "Oh your lab...thats right."

"Yep, let's go," Washu confirmed, pulling on Dan's arm. Dan shrugged and wondered 'what next...?' to himeself as he was tugged out of his room.

Dan sat down on the examination table, wearing nothing but a paper gown and a pair of boxers. Moments later, Washu came out...dressed in a Nurses outfit.

"W...Wait...your the CEO...why are you dressed like that?" Dan boggled.

"To set the proper mood," Washu replied cheerfully, snapping on a pair of latex gloves.

"Er...what do you mean by 'the proper mood'?" Dan blinked.

"You'll find out shortly." Washu nodded then noticed that he was still wearing his boxers. "Drop the boxers please."

"No." Dan squeaked.

"Come on off with it." Washu sighed "I can't begin the exam with those on."

"All right." Dan sighed and dropped his boxers.

Washu grinned took a few steps and grabbed his scrotum. "Cough."

"Wha...hey!" Dan squeaked.

"That's not a cough." Washu sang grinning at him. Dan blushed and did indeed cough.

"There we go." Washu nodded then looked down. "My your a big boy."

"HEY!" Dan sweatdropped.

Washu giggled and took a step back then retrieved a what appeared to be a blood pressure montior. She wrapped it around his wrist and nodded "Now hold still while I take a base reading."

"O..okay." Dan nodded and stood still as his ekg, heart rate and breathing rate were measured.

"Mmm.," Washu nodded then smiled as she glanced at the monitor "Nice vital signs. Your taking good care of yourself I see."

"I try."

"Now lets see what happens when I do THIS!" Washu grinned as she rubbed up against him. 

"EEP!"

"Well that got you going didn't it." Washu smiled up at him.

"Just what was that for!" Dan blurted.

"If I told you..." Washu intoned as she looked down at the monitor. "You might not believe it...not now anyway."

Dan blinked at her. "Wha?"

Washu hummed and shook her head. "Never mind that...we have the rest of the physical to take care of."

Dan sat down trying to calm his nerves, until he saw the syringe. "Gah I hate blood tests."

"To bad. I need your genetic data." Washu shrugged that comment off.

Dan squished his eyes shut as Washu approached with the needle. Hoping for it to be over and done with.

"Now quit it...what kind of a man are you"  
"One who doesn't like needles." Dan sighed. "I never did."

Dan felt the pin-prick and wondered what else was in store for him.

"Your a bit late, but that's okay." Megan smiled sunnily as he padded into the office.

"I had a...meeting, with Washu..."

"Oh what sort of meeting?"

"Physical exam."

"Physical exam?" Megan blinked "That's odd. Only a select few get those from her."

Dan blinked.

"Ah never mind. You won't understand," She handed Dan a workload. "Four new viruses and a trojan came out today. We're already working on the update pages while the coding staff are trying to come up with vaccines for our subscribers."

"Bleh, you'd think people would have better things to do with their time than cook these things up," Dan muttered as he scanned the papers.

"Some people get there kicks that way." Megan shugged. "I get my kicks out of anime fandom."

Dan grinned inwardly at that note, but was frowning at the list. "Which fandom?"

"Macross," Megan giggled at Dan. "I even own a copy of the Macross MMORPG."

"Lucky," Dan sighed and sat at the computer. "I hear it has good content and graphics."

"Well when you get a decent system let me know and I can hook you up into our guild." Megan winked.

"Our?" Dan blinked.

"Yup!" Megan grinned as he looked around and saw his co workers waving at him. "We're all closet Macross fans."

Dan blinked then grinned, "I'm...I'm home?"

"You like Macross, too?" Megan blinked then grinned when he nodded. She reached out and pulled him into a polite hug. "Welcome home then."

"Th...Thank you." Dan stammered then acked when someone behind him cleared their throat.

"Oh, Miss President..." Chris chuckled awkwardly. "Welcome back to our lab."

Dan double acked and let go of Megan to turn to face the spiky haired woman. "Ah sorry about that."

"Can I have a word with you?" Ryouko intoned nodding subtly to the door.

"Um...sure?" Dan nodded to her and followed her out the door. Once outside Ryouko gazed at him evenly.

"Did my mother give you a physical earlier today?"

"Ah, yes?" Dan repliied, wondering why she asked. Admittedly it had been a odd physical, but no permenant harm was done. "She mentioned something about at base reading."

"She did?" Ryouko looked questioningly at Dan. He nodded and she looked thoughtful for a moment. "I see. So you have been chosen, as well."

"C..Chosen? Chosen for what?" Dan blinked. Ryouko sighed and folded her arms above her chest.

"Never mind that." Ryouko looked at him evenly. "Now tell me...what were you doing hugging your co worker."

"I um...what?" Dan blinked and blushed then laughed nervously. "Oh that...!"

"Yes that..." Ryouko nodded narrowing her eyes. "You'd better have a good reason."

"Actually..." Dan began "...Megan was just welcoming me into a fandom of hers."

"Fandom?" Ryouko raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah...Macross." Dan nodded to the president. "Its a fairly old anime."

"Oh...that." Ryouko muttered, looking fairly disinterested. "Did she have to give you a hug over that?"

"Well...she considers me as kin, since I like it too."

"Really..." Ryouko hummed, sounding a bit bored.

'I'm getting the feeling she's not into sci fi.' Dan thought. "Anyway, is there anything else?"

"Nothing...except for a word on decorum." Ryouko spoke crisply. "Affection in small doses is fine but this is a good company as well. Keep it neat and proper, if you can."

'Neat and proper?' Dan thought to himself. 'You call your Mother goosing my privates neat and proper?!?!'

"Something the matter?" Ryouko inquired "I saw your jaw jump a bit."

'I must keep this job. I must keep this job.' Dan's mantra screamed back at him, and he cooled off.

"It's nothing." Dan looked at her evenly. Ryouko gazed at him for a moment then nodded to Dan. "Very well. You may go back to your work now. Have a good day."

"Thanks, Miss President." Dan nodded as she walked away. He watched her go and slipped back inside. He slouched back down at his desk then blinked when Megan peered at him behind the divider.

"She gave you the decorum warning right?"

Dan nodded and she gave him a sympathetic look. "Don't feel too bad. She gives that to everyone when she witnesses such an act."

"Why?"

"It has to do something with her past.." Megan hummed then held a thick manilla folder out to him. "Here's what I've rendered and how'd they look on the lay out. Can you check them for me?"

Dan blinked at the request, then nodded as he took the folders from her.

"Thank you," Megan grinned back at him. "These should meet the suggestions we made during the idea jam that we had the other day."

"Mmm..." Dan nodded, then flipped through the first few pages. "These are..."

"Yes?" Megan sat up, focusing her attention on him.

"These are quite good..." Dan nodded, blushing unconciously. "I especially liked how you used a text overlay over Guardian A for the links."

"Take a look at the solutions/product information page." Megan blushed at Dan, "They're not as good but Miss Tsukino is working on the Guardian A and R pairing." 

Dan grinned, flipped to it and hummmed. "These are the stock images I saw last night?"

"Copies of them...I did the same overlay for the index page."

Dan nodded at that explination, then hmmed when he received an important mail update on his computer. He checked his mailbox and peered at the new message. "Well speaking of the angel..."

He clicked on it, checked the included image file then sat back, stunned and not knowing what to say. There they were, Guardian A and R together, nearly entwined around each other.

"She's really outdone herself in this one." Megan murmured quietly. "Its sort of passionate in a way."

"Include it...and we'll see what the board says about it." Dan nodded after thinking a long while.

"Your the boss." Megan nodded and grabbed the attached file for her own use.

Dan nodded then peered back as the server marm wandered over with a small folder in hand.

"What's this?" Dan asked the blonde as she handed it to him.

"Our traffic totals," She mused, her melodious tone of voice tickling his ear. "I'm sure you and the rest of the management team will find it...satsifactory."

Dan blushed at the gentle purr in her voice and peered at its contents.

"H...How?" Dan boggled.

"We're a top rated company, Daniel. Top rated companies usually get figures like this," She grinned then leaned in. "Mm...you free after work?"

"Um..." Dan blushed.

EOF. 


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Dan sighed as he straightend himself in the elevator. With him were the CEO Washu Hakubi, Megan and Ami Mizuno.

"Nervous?" Washu iquired with a small smile as she peered up at him.

"Well yes..." Dan nodded while thumbing a portfolio "I'm kinda worried if they'll like the site design we've came up with."

"You won't know until they see it," Ami offered in a comforting tone. "It's best to calm yourself. That is, unless if you want to look unproffesional in front of the staff."

"Ami," Megan chided. She smiled at Dan, "You'll be fine."

"Thanks." Dan managed, smiling sheepishly. The elevator came to a stop at the top floor. The doors slid open and Dan came face to face with a Raven haired woman wearing a dark grey pant suit and black pumps. 

"Morning all," Rei Hino nodded to them. "Going to meet the president and head of the board?"

"Yes," Ami nodded with a smile.

"Good luck," Rei nodded to Dan with a smile as they exitted the car and turned down the corridor. Rei watched them for a moment before entering the elevator.

"So who are we meeting with?" Dan inquired, looking at the redhead, who was wearing a similar pantsuit that the president wore.

"My two daughters, Ryouko and Vice president Minagi Hakubi as well as Vice President Natsuki Kuga and the owner of this company."

Dan gulped. "All of them at the same time?" he squeaked out.

Ami gave him a smile, "You've met them before."

"Not as a group though," Dan sighed as they walked up to a oak door.

"Their bark is much worse than their bite." Megan smiled and patted his back as she tried to console him.

"I wouldn't say that too loudly." Washu warned, then knocked on the door.

"Yes?" A deep raspy yet authoritative voice called out. 

"We're here with the IT report." Washu chimed.

"Come in." 

Washu pushed the door open and they walked in. Dan glanced around and tried not to gawk at everything. The office was spacious and its walls were painted with a light shade of brown. Sitting in a wingback couch was the president and someone who, aside from the pair of scars on her face, could be mistaken for her twin. A dark haired woman sat with them.  
There was a table in front of them which was adorned with a tea tray, tea cups and a couple file folders.  
Ryouko just looked at her notes while her twin smiled gently at him as he walked by. The dark haired woman glanced up at him with her green eyes, then looked back at the file in her hands.

Natsuki Kuga was a woman who made Dan faintly nervous and he couldn't quite explain why. Maybe it was her intensity or unusually grim look, but whatever it was he didn't want to mess with her.

"Welcome to another informal board meeting," A gentle alto voice called out, bringing Dan's attention to a silver haired woman sitting at a larger desk. She had her straight hair pulled into a bun and was dressed in a grey pantsuit. Tennyo Masaki was gorgeous, a thought that Dan tried very hard not to think about. In part it was because she had a remote, almost older look to her, and part of it was the sense of hidden capability she carried. She gazed at Dan and nodded. "I trust your well preparedfor your first meeting, Mr. Wisner."

"Of course." Dan nodded while Washu wandered to the left side of her desk. Standing on the right side was a brown haired woman who had gentle brown eyes and wore a dark jacket and and a matching long skirt. Shizuru was Tennyo's personal assistant and had a calm, disarming air around her. Yet there was a hint of whimsy dancing in her eyes.

"Welcome," she smiled as she gestured to the tea set, "would you like some tea?"

"We'd like some." Ami nodded and gestured to the three chairs which stood between them and the chairman's desk. "Shall we?"

Dan nodded to Ami and slipped over to the seat on the far right. Ami sat on the far left while Megan sat in the middle. As they did, Shizuru deftly poured tea for the three visitors.

"Shall we begin?" Tennyo asked as Shizuru put the tea kettle back onto the tray. All three nodded and Tennyo sat back into her seat. Shizuru rounded the desk and sunnily offered Ami, Megan and Dan a cup of tea. She gazed at Ami and spoke gently yet firmly "How are the new software patches, revisions and updates coming along, Ms. Mizuno."

"Our software packages have been updated as requested," Ami nodded to Tennyo. "The outbreak was a bit tough on our programmers...the four viri were pretty elaborate and the trojan was was even worse."

"Was it through email?" Tennyo wondered

"No...it was worse," Natsuki murmured and gazed over at Ami. "It was a malware program right?"

"Right," Ami nodded and then frowned. "It was disguised as an anti-spyware site no less."

"Oi..." Dan grumbled.

"How's the spring update coming along." Tennyo offered.

"We're on schedule," Ami nodded. "Our team leaders have reccomended that we add the four viri and the trojan to the project."

"Have it done," Tennyo nodded then sighed. "Clever bastards. Hiding their worm in a dummy site."

Those in attendance nodded, then looked up when Tennyo spoke again. "Have you finished re-designing the site?"

"We're using a functioning beta model right now." Megan nodded then looked to Dan.

"We're firming up our plans," Dan reported, fidgeting slightly. "We have some stuff we'd like Miss Tsukino do for that, but I think the rest of the team should have the coding finished by the time we all get out of here, so it'll only mean dropping the finished graphics in..."

Tennyo gazed at him intently and nodded "Do you have the design plans with you?"

Dan shuffled the papers in front of him for a minute before he found the page with the rough draft.  
Holding it up, he answered, "Just a rough draft right now. If you'd like, I can see if Sei has a more current draft..."

"No this will do Mr. Wisner," Tennyo took it and hmmed quietly. Washu looked over her shoulder then grinned.

"Its a bit graphic heavy," The CEO offered then winked. "But Ms Tsukino's art is always highly compressed for quick viewing."

"That's the only reason we've gone with so many graphics," Dan assured the CEO.

"Capping the main page with both guardians is a nice touch." The CEO nodded as Tennyo handed the rough design to Shizuru. "What do you think, Tennyo?"

"I agree...," Tennyo nodded approvingly while Shizuru walked over to the couch where the president and the vice president sat. Ryouko took it from the gentle brown haired woman and her sister Minagi leaned over to gaze at the design. Natsuki just glanced at it from where she sat. "Its quite informative as well. Your opinions Ryouko?"

Ryouko continued to gaze at the design for a moment or two. "This is better than what I peered at before, Mr Wisner. Was this entirely your doing?"

"ER...no...we ah...brain stormed it out and spent most of our night hashing it out." Dan admitted.

"Its a good design." Minagi nodded followed by a thoughtful hum from Natsuki. She looked at the dark haired girl and blinked "Something the matter?"

"I'm not an expert but...couldn't someone steal the images and make a dummy site for their own purposes?" Natsuki husked.

Dan blinked at that and was about to answer when he received a gentle nudge from Megan. He blinked, was about to ask what was up when he noticed Megan was jotting something down on a notecard. He then looked to Tennyo and nodded. "We've already noted that."

I hope that will be rectified with the next update." Tennyo nodded then blinked when someone banged on the door. 

"Sorry to bust in on you," Strife called as he entered the room, helping to hold a limping, short boyish looking girl wearing khaki's. "She refused to go to medical until she reported to you."

"Cyril...!" Washu blurted as they took in her condition. She looked badly hurt and mixture of sweat, blood and slime dripped from her body. A single black glove adorned her left hand while a metallic cylinder was gripped in her right.

"Mission complete...D..Doctor.' The girl murmured as they trudged over to the desk. Dan just watched her, transfixed as she made her way over.

"Of all the..." Washu sighed and rounded the table, reached out to take the cylinder from Cyril and glanced at Strife. "Get her back to the infirmiry, STAT!"

"Gotcha, Boss-lady!" Strife acknowledged, hoisting Cyril up in both his arms. As he turned, the boyish girl convulsed and retched, spewing up an odd looking larvae-like thing, which shot towards Dan.

Dan acked as the thing dove at him...then turned ash white as the blade of a Naginata cut the little creature in two a foot from his face. Dan gulped then blinked when the blade and staff unwravelled into the hand of Shizuru, which then reformed as an elegant bracelet. Dan...too stunned for words, passed out and slumped towards the floor.

"I'll let you guys deal with him," Strife called out as he hurried out of the room. "I've got precious cargo here!"

"Dan..." Megan bit her lip.

"This is an unfortunate turn of events." Ami sighed.

"Damn it all..." Natsuki grumbled and made her way over to the crumpled man.

"Get him to the infirmiry as well..." Tennyo glanced at Ryouko. "We'll explain things later. When he's calmed down."

Ryouko sighed and fished out a cellphone. "Very well."

(Cyril Brooklyn is copyrighted to Masasume Shirow. Tennyo, Minagi, Ryouko Washuu are copyrighted to AIC.  
Natsuki and Shizuru are from My HiME. Ami Mizuno and Rei Hino are from Sailor Moon)

EOF 


End file.
